Holidays
Halloween Air Collective It is during the season of Autumn that Airbenders experience their greatest power and spiritual connection. More Air Nomad children are born during this time than any other season and many cultural festivities are held. While new life finds its way into the temples, so do the lives of those which have passed away. Unlike the other three nations, which hold supernatural beliefs and either fear or idolize the spirits, the Air Nomads engage with the spiritual in all aspects of their culture. It is Autumn, the waning season, which symbolizes both death and birth in the Air Nomad temples. Airbender culture is about peace and tranquility, going with the flow of the wind and celebrating all aspects of life, including death. It is during this time that the Air Nomads celebrate their past and ancestors, dedicating four days to recognize the Festival of Flying Lemurs. The celebration is named this way because for generations it has been tradition at the conclusion of the festival to decorate the tails of flying lemurs with ribbons of cloth, leaves, and beads. This is done not only for lighthearted fun, but also in recognition of the birth, death, and rebirth of Air Nomads. During the festival, Airbenders congregate at the four temples and enjoy magnificent reunions. Ideas of reincarnation flourish during these four days as Air Nomads look to the teachings of their ancestors and celebrate their lives, old and new. The festival is highlighted by the changing colors of the trees, the baking of pumpkin fruit pies, and rejoicing through both dance and meditation. In the days leading up to the festival, the temples are filled with decorations of Autumnal colors. Gourds and driftwood are carved into pendants and talismans or hollowed out into lanterns. The temples become lively scenes of the season, a stark contrast to themes of mourning and death resembled by other cultures during this time. The first three days of the festival are devoted to fasting and connecting with the spirits and ancestors. During these three days, Air Nomads join together to meditate in areas of high spirituality, sometimes entering the spirit world. They also burn incense as peaceful offerings at the statues of past great Monks and Nuns - those who are believed to have achieved enlightenment and transcended into the spirit world. On the fourth day, each temple hosts a dance where Airbenders bend and funnel fallen leaves from the trees to decorate the scene and play musical instruments liven up the day. To conclude the festival, the Air Nomads break their fast with a grand feast of pies and vegetarian dishes. And, of course, at the end of the day, the lemurs arrive for treats and tail decorations, then to be sent back out to color the mountains in honor of the past and its cycle of rebirth. Water Tribe Tale of the 11th Moon 十一月的故事 ~ ~ ~ On the night of the 11th new moon of the year, Tui and La go into a deep slumber for the night preparing for the Water Tribe's strongest season of the year - winter. On this night the moon disappears and leaves the water benders powerless, while Tui and La draw energy from the spirit world. This act heightens the spiritual energies surrounding the water tribe, leaving the place between the physical and spirit worlds unstable, allowing dark spirits to invade the water tribe cities. Many know not of why this occurrence is happening but many stories have been told. At the end of the Hundred Year War, on the night of the first 11th new moon since the war had ended, dark spirits terrorized Water Tribe lands in revenge of the demise of the Moon Spirit at the hands of Admiral Zhao. This invasion came on the night where water benders were the most powerless and couldn't defend themselves. This event has also affected the people of the Southern Water Tribe since the moon and ocean spirit are one with the southern lands as with the northern. As the spirits terrorize the citizens year after year, the people of the Water Tribe have been left powerless. After another year of this treacherous attack many Southern Water Tribe citizens found out that by making charms and hanging them on their homes, they can ward off the dark spirits. These charms are made out of elephant whale bones, spirit wood, and polar bear claws. When the night is over, the Water Tribes recognizes the next day as the beginning of winter and celebrate. A huge festival is held with music, dancing, dueling, and a feast. Earth Kingdom Most people in the Earth Kingdom know about the Hidden Path. It is a tradition held year after year that not only keeps the people of the kingdom safe, but also gives them a reason to respect the spirits of the world. This tradition, known as the Hidden Path, is only truly able to be practiced by earth benders. Non-benders of the Earth Kingdom are known to attempt it, but most fail due to their inability manipulate the ground. The act itself is rather simple, you light a candle, create a small space under the walkways of your village, city, ect., and place the candle inside before sealing up the hole. This is seen as creating a sort of path of lights for any spirits who happen to be wandering about to follow, leading to them remaining close to the homes of the people to protect them. It has also been used to try and ward off spirits, mostly by towns who fear them (one example is Senlin, 5 years before Avatar Aang showed up) but has not been proven to work. The idea behind warding off the spirits near you would be to light the path leading a river or stream, so they end up following that instead. It is seen as disrespectful to remove or expose the candles before a week has passed, so not many know what happens while they are underground. Some who refuse to believe in the power of spirits say they burn out immediately. Others, those who believe with all their heart that they are protected, say they burn until the open sky can see them. The only living person to ever make a mention of the Hidden Path was a now unknown Avatar, who is claimed to have said: “My friends, how did you manage to get the stones to glow?” Fire Nation Every week before Halloween, families spin many orange and purple silk blankets to place over their loved ones' graves on Halloween night. They take 3 minutes of silence when facing the grave(s), since the number 3 is believed to signify a person's most important stages in life; birth, marriage, and death. After those 3 minutes, they light the silk blankets on fire using candles, firebending, or any other source. These diaphanous blankets often float up into the air in smaller pieces. Those who do this tradition believe that burning these colors would signify wealth and luxury for those in the afterlife. Many also place incense underneath the silk blankets so that when those blankets are set on fire, it also lights the incense to burn for some time after. Before this happens, people in a town celebrate together at a large gathering in the town center. They set up an incredible amount of food and fruit, including round pastries shaped like the full moon above their heads, which can have different combinations of filling such as egg yolks, lotus paste made from crushed lotus seeds, and many more. Some activities during this festival include choosing a red piece of candy from a bowl and having the chance to have fire flakes in them or having the normal red apple. The people of the Fire Nation call this significant day of mourning their dead Halloween as hallow means holy. When holy is translated to one of their most ancient languages, it has a very close pronunciation to how you say 3 in that language as well.Category:A-Z Category:Lore